


For Us

by tsthrace



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: F/F, Fix-It, Gen, Lexa Lives
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-22
Updated: 2019-02-22
Packaged: 2019-11-02 01:17:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,163
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17878319
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tsthrace/pseuds/tsthrace
Summary: My one-shot attempt at fixing 307, starting right after Clarke and Lexa's sex scene. Lexa doesn't die (obviously).





	For Us

She still feels Clarke all over her. Her fingers on her spine, her mouth on her neck, her skin sliding over her. She closes her eyes, letting the memory wash over her. She shivers. Then smiles. Then sighs.

Now will be the time for goodbyes.

She runs her hand through her hair and takes a breath. She checks her shirt, her pants, looks in the mirror. She’s glowing. She smiles. She’s stalling. But she knows every minute she waits puts Clarke in more danger. She takes a long breath and turns to the door.

A crack rings out, slicing through the warm quiet. Her heart jumps. It came from Clarke’s room. She runs.

\--

Pain rips through her. Silence. Her vision narrows, sharpens. She sees Clarke, her blue eyes wild and full of worry. Across the room, Titus looks down at the gun in his hand. He’s shaking. The gun lands on the floor with a heavy thud.

She looks down. A black stain spreads over one side of her shirt. She takes a breath. The air moves through her chest, her stomach, and finally out into her limbs. She balls her fingers into a fist and then slowly unfurls them. The pain goes quiet, replaced by white rage that moves like a storm through her. She feels her face turn to ice. Then she launches.

She shoves Clarke out of the way and springs onto Titus. Instinctively, Titus deflects her punch to the throat and pulls back into a defensive stance. His movements are smooth, graceful.

“Lexa, I’m sorry,” he says, his eyes dark with regret.

 _Impulsive_ , she berates herself. _Emotional_. She puts up her hands and bends her knees, spreading her weight evenly.

“Lexa, let me explain.” He lowers his arms halfway in partial submission.

She spins into a kick that catches him in his side. Titus absorbs the blow, jerks back, and inhales. He bends his knees. Teacher versus student.

He shakes his head with sad eyes. “You don’t have to do this.”

“You did this.” Her voice is even, sharp. “On your knees, _Fleimkepa_.”

He closes his eyes. Nods. Then falls to his knees.

“All the way down, Titus.”

He obeys, prostrating himself before her.

“Clarke, get the gun.”

Clarke nods and dashes around the bed and picks up the gun.

“Now keep it on him.”

Clarke stands over Titus, the gun pointed at his head.

She takes another breath. Stumbles. She looks around. She shudders. Pain screams through her, erasing all her questions.

“Lexa!” She hears Clarke’s voice call out before the world turns black.

\---

“It’s not as bad as it looks.” A voice cuts through the fog. She hears rustling.

“So she’ll be okay?” Indra.

“We can hold off on planning the conclave.” She can hear the half-smile in Clarke’s voice.

“Clarke?” she mumbles from the darkness. She can’t seem to open her eyes.

“Lexa, stay still.” Clarke’s voice calms her. “You’re okay, I promise.”

Her right side pulses with a dull, deep pain. She reaches for it. Clarke grabs her hand and wraps her own hands around it, her thumb moving slowly back and forth over Lexa’s skin.

“Stop,” Clarke says gently. “The bullet grazed you. Maybe cracked your rib. There was a lot of blood, but it could have been a lot worse.”

“Titus?” Her throat is dry.

“He submitted. He’s locked up.”

“He shot me.”

“Lexa.” Clarke takes a deep breath. “He didn’t mean to.

She opens her eyes, squinting as the room comes into focus. Her head pounds. “Are you defending him?”

Clarke lets out the breath. “He was trying to shoot me.”

She closes her eyes again. “I’m glad he missed.” A tiny smile creeps across her lips. She feels Clarke squeeze her hand as she drifts back into a black sleep.

\----

A day later, she is in the throne room. Titus is chained to a metal pole in the middle of the room. The same metal pole that Emerson had been chained to not long before. Indra is there, a sling on her arm and dark circles under her eyes. The noviates sit to her right, cross-legged and wide-eyed. Trikru warriors fill the rest of the space. Clarke sits in shadows.

She stands, working hard to conceal the pain that floods her body, the wince that threatens her face.

“ _Gona_ ,” she says, her voice ringing clearly through the room. “Titus _kom Trikru_ stands accused of harm against his Commander. An act all the more treacherous because he is the _fleimkepa_ , entrusted with the care of the Commander.”

Titus throws his shoulders back. Stern lines crease his forehead, but his eyes are sad.

She looks down at him, narrowing her eyes. “Speak in your defense.”

“I am guilty of harming the Commander, that is true.” He looks at her steadily as he speaks. “But I am not a traitor.” His gaze travels over the crowd of warriors. “I _was_ caring for Lexa. Protecting her leadership. Protecting the Coalition. Protecting _Trikru_.”

“By shooting her?” Indra’s voice is quiet but carries.

“I wasn’t trying to harm the Commander. I was trying to kill her.” He looks at Clarke.

“Why?” Lexa growls.

“Lexa, Clarke is putting you in danger.” Titus’ eyes are sincere. “She insists on mercy when justice is called for. _Skaikru_ killed 300 warriors who you sent to _protect_ Arkadia. And yet you did nothing. Because of her. Then _Skaikru_ attacked another village. And you again denied your people justice. Because of her. _Wanheda_ puts all of us in danger.”

“ _I_ made those decisions.” Her voice is low but sharp. “Not Clarke. _I_ declared that blood must not have blood. Not Clarke. And yet you tried to kill _her_.”

Titus looks down. “She convinced you. Because…”

Lexa’s eyes are smoldering. “No one makes me do anything—”

“ _Heda_.” Indra has stepped forward. She bows, her shoulders slumped but her face steady. “Forgive me for interrupting.”

Lexa takes in a breath and the room stands still. Finally, she exhales and gives Indra a nod with her eyes.

“I have spent time with _Skaikru_ in Arkadia. Trained with their warriors. Slept just on the other side of their wall. They are not just one thing. There are some good people. People who want peace.” She looks at Clarke. Then her eyes turn back to Lexa. “But you saw that battlefield. You saw our people’s blood.” She looks out the open doors over the valley. “I saw _Skaikru’s_ eyes when they came. They didn’t see people...” Her voice trails off. Finally, she looks back up at Lexa. “I believe Clarke when she says she wants peace. I trust her because you trust her. But _Skaikru_ is not just one thing. And Clarke is not their leader. When the leader _they chose_ sees us, he doesn’t see people. And it’s not just him.”

“I know I can get my people to overthrow Pike.” Clarke steps into the light. Her voice is fast, desperate. “I just need more time.”

Indra’s face stiffens. She doesn’t look at Clarke. “Clarke keeps asking for time. But whenever you give _her_ people time, _your_ people die.”

Lexa’s jaw tightens. “This isn’t about Clarke.” She forces herself not to look at Clarke, keeping her gaze on Indra. “Are you speaking in Titus’ defense?” Her voice is cold.

“No, _Heda_.” Indra shakes her head. “He was careless and put your life in danger. It was a dereliction of his duty.” She looks up at Titus. “But I do believe he thought he was helping you.”

“By attempting to kill an ambassador?”

Indra takes a deep breath. “By removing an ambassador who seems to have great influence over you.” She and every other warrior brace themselves for the Commander’s reaction.

It doesn’t come.

Lexa turns, walks to her throne, and sits. She looks out at her _gona_. Finally, her gaze settles on Titus. “Do you want peace, Titus?” she asks evenly.

His sad eyes gaze back. “Yes, _Heda_. I do. It’s why we worked so hard for the Coalition.”

Lexa nods then shifted her eyes on Indra. “And you, Indra, do you want peace?”

“Peace without justice is not real peace.”

Lexa looks at Clarke. “He was trying to kill you. What does justice look like now, Clarke? What does peace look like now?”

Clarke searches Lexa’s eyes, but all the warmth and want from the day before is now gone. Finally, she looks down. “He did it because he cares about you.”

“I’ve killed people I care about before,” Lexa says quietly. After a few moments, she stands. “This is my decision.” Her voice cuts through the room. “Titus is banished from Polis.” Titus’ head drops. “Until there is peace with _Skaikru_. He will go to Arkadia to work on it.” Clarke’s brow furls. “When he succeeds, he can return as my _fleimkepa_.”

\-----

The thump of quick footsteps thunder closer. Lexa doesn’t look up when Clarke crashes through her chamber doors.

“Are you out of your mind?” Clarke is all anger.

Lexa’s eyes remain on the book in her hands. “You want mercy, I showed mercy. You want peace, I gave you help to achieve peace.”

“Help?” Clarke scoffs. “He tried to kill me.”

“He shot _me_.” Lexa finally looks up. “By our law, he should be tied to a pole and...the same as others guilty of less.”

“So why isn’t he?”

“The same reason Emerson is running around in the woods somewhere.” Lexa tries to set the book down, but a flash of pain shoots through her. She gasps and slams her eyes shut. The room seems to shift as the pain washes through her. She feels arms around her, slowly lowering her onto her back. Then she feels hands brushing hair out of her face, then lips on her forehead. She opens her eyes. Clarke is looking down on her, worried.

“Hi.” Lexa smiles softly.

“Hi,” Clarke whispers back. “Are you okay?”

Lexa nods and reaches up to grab the front of Clarke’s shirt with the arm that doesn’t hurt as much. She pulls her down until their lips meet. They kiss slowly for a moment until Clarke pulls up and looks at her with soft eyes.

“I was afraid I would never get to do that again,” Lexa says, her green eyes steady on Clarke’s blue.

“Me too.” Clarke’s face is suddenly sad. She takes a deep breath then lets it out. “I think I need to go, Lexa.”

“Now?” Lexa had understood why Clarke needed to leave before, but after all that had happened...

“No, that’s not what I meant.” Clarke takes Lexa’s hand, twining their fingers. “It’s...well, you heard what Indra said.”

Lexa nods, wincing. The pain returns at the strangest times.

“If we really want peace,” Clarke continues, “I think we need to...I don’t think I should be here.”

Lexa closes her eyes. “Is that what you want?”

“Lexa, I want you to be safe.” Clarke puts her hand on her cheek. “And I just seem to bring you harm. Your people don’t trust you when I’m here.”

Lexa huffs. “What kind of commander am I if the people I love—” She stops, feels the flush on her face.

“Hey,” Clarke bends down and gently kisses one cheek, then the other, then her forehead, then the tip of her nose. She stops just short of Lexa’s lips. “I love you, too,” she whispers.

Something swells through Lexa. Not pain, but warmth—and struggle. She feels tears prick at the corner of her eyes. She takes a breath practiced a thousand times—the breath that commands her feelings, that puts them back in their box. She wants to run, she wants to wrap her arms around Clarke. It will all hurt. She takes another breath. It doesn’t work. The tears build for a moment before they spill down.

Clarke wipes each one away with a finger stroke. Lexa silently lets them fall.

“Clarke,” she says haltingly as she tries to catch her breath. “The last time I...I loved someone…”

Clarke shakes her head, resolute. “That’s not going to happen.” She leans down to kiss her again. Lexa tastes like salt.

“I can keep you safe here.”

“No, you can’t. And you know it.” Clarke sighs and gently nudges Lexa over. She lays down on her side next to her, her head propped up on one arm. “If we want this to work, we need to be who we are.”

Lexa turns her head, looking straight into Clarke’s eyes. She smiles a little. “Who is that, Clarke?”

Clarke shrugs, closes her eyes, then shakes her head. She sighs. “We need to lead our people.”

“You’re a strong leader, Clarke.” Lexa looks away.

“So are you, Lexa. Your people love you.”

“Not all of them.”

“If I leave, you’ll get them back.”

Lexa nods slowly. “I do want peace, Clarke.” Her voice is quiet.

“I know, Lexa. So do I.” Clarke leans over and kisses her again. “For us.”

**Author's Note:**

> Leave me some kudos if you liked this!  
> Leave me a comment if you have FEELINGS.  
> (And I'm totally down for hearing what didn't work for you, so long as you do it in a kind way.)


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